Self-Healing Rubber May Have Just Changed Tires Forever

How is this even possible?

If you've ever had a flat tire, you know how much of a day-ruiner it can be.

You'll be stuck on the side of the road for hours. You'll get dirty trying to fix it or you'll have to wait for someone to come fix it for you. You'll be in a dangerous spot on the shoulder. And then, to top it all off, you'll have to pay hundreds of dollars for a new tire.

"But what if getting a flat didn't mean getting a new tire?"

That's the question asked by the American Chemical Society, who — with the help of scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research in Dresden — developed a revolutionary "self-healing" tire. Their carbon and nitrogen additive lets rubber reform crucial bonds. During their experiments, punctured tires would "fix itself" at room temperature, so you could simply have your car inside the garage overnight to heal the tire.

With heat, the process would be faster. And after eight days, the tire would be able to tolerate 750 PSI, which is about 20 times the normal pressure on a tire.